By FireRescue1 Staff
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Crews on Monday recovered the body of a Kansas City firefighter who went missing in an off-duty boating accident.
Underwater search teams used sonar equipment to locate the body of Firefighter Gerald Lavallee, 48, according to the Kansas City Star.
Firefighter Lavallee was on a personal watercraft that collided with a deck boat driven by a department fire captain on Sunday.
He was thrown underwater and a shredded life jacket came to the surface, according to witnesses.
Fellow firefighters told KCTV he’ll be remembered for helping out younger members of the department.
“The guys that he worked with said that he really enjoyed coming to work,” Battalion Chief Joe Vitale said.
“He really enjoyed working with the young firefighters on the equipment and training them.”